Ship crashes into B.C. coal terminal, spilling coal into the water

Officials in British Columbia spent the weekend cleaning up coal that spilled into the ocean after a large ship that was docking at a coal export terminal crashed into a conveyor belt, leaving a gaping hole in the equipment.

The accident occurred Friday at Westshore Terminals in Vancouver, the largest coal port in North America. The ship destroyed a section of the coal belt leading to the terminal’s loading berth, spilling about 30 metric tons of coal into the water, according to news reports. More photos and videos are here.

TVW traveled to B.C. to see the terminal as part of its one-hour documentary on coal exports, “Coal Crossroads.” Two hearings are scheduled this week on a proposal to build a coal export terminal in Washington state:

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The Capitol Record is TVW's blog about state government. TVW is a non-profit network modeled after C-SPAN, airing gavel-to-gavel coverage of the state Legislature as well as independently produced shows. For comments or questions, e-mail Christina Salerno.